Gracie is amazing. As soon as she has her first full Senior season, she will probably become "the favorite". Will she implode or become the next Yuna? Who knows, I do not want to dream anymore.

Agnes is very technically proficient and powerful. She is a different type of American ladies champion and I like it, a lot. She has the goods..

Ah sigh.. Mirai.. Brian Orser and David Wilson but she can not afford it. Kwan/Oppegard? Michelle is a fan I think... I would almost beg MK to work the magic and get her to the family rink.

Alissa is a ballerina... beautiful, graceful, gentle and feminine. I just do not think that it would be fair to have her go to Sochi 2014 when we have such amazing younger skaters with better jumps and more possibilities. We need the younger ladies to start making a name for themselves. Alissa is the top American lady right now, despite Ashley winning Nationals and this needs to change because if we enter Olympics season with her at the top of the national field... well.. we have as good a chance as we did last Olympics...

It would be a lot easier to postpone school and pursue skating but it seems that even she knows her studies are her forte. It would be awesome if she retired on such a high note. She actually had "a moment" and that is amazing after all the negativity that stemmed from Worlds.

Ashley seems to have something to prove. She wants to do well and is fired up. This is good for any team. She is pushing herself and pushing others (wants to recover 3rd spot at Worlds). I do not enjoy watching her skate but I appreciate that she has the quality of a good team player and we need this.

Agnes is powerful across the ice.. She reminds of Irina Slutskaya when she jumps.. The height and the power. She is not MK, she is not Sasha Cohen, heck she is not even Alissa but she can jump!! When was the last time we had a solid jumper at the top?

Originally Posted by macy

i think gracie is the top contender for sochi. she has already had a growth spurt and if she doesn't have another one could have her already consistent 3+3's, a 3A which she is currently working on, and maybe a quad. that's huge for a lady.

mirai needs to find her love for the sport again and make a change, and in my opinion it is changing coaches. to who, i don't know. but i don't think her and frank aren't working well anymore. their personalities kind of clash. and to try a different choreographer.

i would like to see alissa stay till 2014. she's only been with yuka and jason for not even 2 years yet, and i think it would be too soon to cut her success short. i'm in support of her all the way and would be very heartbroken if she retired this year. she has a quality that no other skater in the world has right now IMO.

rachael has to choose between school and skating and she needs to make it now. it would be much easier for her to continue skating now and go back to school later than finish school and come back to skating (i took a year off and came back, it doesn't work too well, it's extremely hard). i would like to see her stay until 2014 also or at least one more season. although she has a lot to improve on, she has a lot more potential if she puts in the work. rooting for her!

ashley doesn't impress. it's great she worked hard to win nationals, but there's something i don't like about her skating. its like she tries too hard in her movements...not the jumps, but like arm movements and interpreting the choreography...like trying too hard with the facial expressions and being pretty. but i hope she has a couple good skates at worlds.

agnes doesn't impress me much either, besides her jumps. i love the height she gets on them and her spins are decent. the rest needs work. but i know it's only her second year as a senior.

You know, I just hope Gold has a good head on her shoulders because this is a LOT of hype for someone who hasn't even shown serious signs of being a top World contender. Then again, maybe all the attention on her could be a blessing in disguise for someone else to sneak in and steal the show. Two years is still a while for stuff to happen.

You know, I just hope Gold has a good head on her shoulders because this is a LOT of hype for someone who hasn't even shown serious signs of being a top World contender. Then again, maybe all the attention on her could be a blessing in disguise for someone else to sneak in and steal the show. Two years is still a while for stuff to happen.

She is working with a really good sports psychologist who also works with her coaching team on how to work the mental side of the sport with Gracie. She and Alex O both talked about it in an interview. The hype is around her jump consistency and variety (3Lz+3T in the LP and 3F+3T in the SP - 7/7 on both this season competitively). Gracie needs a different choreographic perspective but that will be the decision of her team. What helps her is that her twin is also a pretty good skater (7th at Midwestern Sectionals in Juniors this year) and takes some of the edge off the nerves for Gracie (she was more nervous at Mids for Carley than herself) and she has another skater at the same level in the rink pushing her (Lexi Verhulst - 5th Midwestern Sectional Juniors) in training.

Oh wow... I am losing it.. I meant to type Sasha Cohen.. In all honesty all I remember is Sarah Hughes jumping and spinning very quickly and not falling during 2002 Olympics. I am not really quite sure how to describe her skating.

sigh.. Ashley Wagner is my least favorite US Ladies Champion in the last 10 years... just bla.. sorry I know she worked hard and made sacrifices but just forgettable in every way.

Alyssa: I hope she does extremely well at worlds and retires. She has brought us light, charm, beauty and hope in these past uninspiring years but her time has passed.

Rachael: I hope she concentrates on her university studies and retires from competition. I simply have never seen any potential in her or a need for her to be in the fs world.

Mirai: Leave everything behind and commit to your skating. MOVE and devote all of your energy to skating. YOU are wrong. You are not just the future. You are the now and the present. You are above all a figure skater and honestly, if you do not allow figure skating to define you and be your life in the immediate few years you will regret it. Rarely, do stars like yourself emerge in this drab, commercialized, and politicized world. You have the power, the technique, the beauty, the pure joy, the spirals, the footwork the jumps, the spark, the star-quality, finesse and that it to be it all + world and Olympic gold champion. Why are you leaving the fans to believe and dream alone? join us! Dare, work, focus, you were meant to be part of the figure skating select book of legends. You do not owe it to the fans, you owe it to yourself.

But doesn't Brian Orser work out of Canada? I think moving to another country would be a a huge expense for the Nagasus, far more than just two-a week four hour trips to and from Frank's.

Initial expense, maybe, but there are always ways to cut costs... honestly I think she could stay with Frank - if she moved closer - and it work out fine.

Carroll is a top name - probably more so than Orser - in figure skating. He ain't cheap and he has a high end team he brings to the table, just as Orser would. And don't folks always say it's easier to live in Canada than here?

Initial expense, maybe, but there are always ways to cut costs... honestly I think she could stay with Frank - if she moved closer - and it work out fine.

Carroll is a top name - probably more so than Orser - in figure skating. He ain't cheap and he has a high end team he brings to the table, just as Orser would. And don't folks always say it's easier to live in Canada than here?

Staying with Frank may not be an option-he seems like a gentlemen already quite settled in his ways and may not be comfortable with Mirai staying with him. As to Canada-it's always been my understanding it is rather more expensive to live there than in the States-but I guess it depends what area of the country your talking about. I've never heard that saying about it being easier to live in Canada but you could be right. Anyway-I hope Nagasu makes some tough decisions in this coming year. Whatever she decides I hope it's a decision she'll be happy with.